The panel is 4.5-ft. x 3.2ft -- about the size of a glass coffee table. It is a slender 0.37 in. thick. Sharp brags the panel is "beautifully in harmony with the building".

The panel is laminated glass infused with semi-transparent thin film solar cells. The cells both generate power and act as a natural insulator serving as a heat barrier. Plus their black color could offer an extra degree of privacy to residents in buildings with the panels.

The panel can produce up to 95 watts at 6.8 percent efficiency [source] -- not great, but okay when you consider its multi-utility (construction, privacy, insulation, and generation).

An artist's depiction of a building equipped with the special glass panels. [Image Source: Sharp Japan]

The panel will start shipping in Japan on Oct. 1, but no U.S. date has been announced. Also not announced was one critical metric -- pricing in Japan.

In house, last I heard, they've hit 48%. Lab samples are less interesting as they have to work out consistency and usability issues. Nobody wants a cell that only produces between 89 and 91 degrees while under temperatures common to Antarctica.